William Isaac Little

William Isaac Little

Ancestry.com
Personal Information
Date of Birth	8 Feb 1893
Place of Birth	Jarrahdale, Western Australia
Death	5 Oct 1965, aged 72
Place of Death	Claremont, Western Australia
Age at Enlistment	22 years, 11 months
Description	5'4" (1.63m) tall ; 136 lbs 61.689 kg ; fair complexion ; hazel eyes ; fair hair
Occupation	Labourer
Religion	Church of England
Address	'Spring Farm', Jarrahdale, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Father , Mr Albert Little
Military Information
Reg Number	5138
Date of Enlistment	31 Jan 1916
Rank	Private
Unit/Formation	11th Battalion, 16th Reinforcement, D Company / 3rd Brigade, 1st Division
Date of Embarkation	31 Mar 1916 ‒ 24 Apr 1916
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A9 Shropshire
Date of Return	1 Jun 1919 ‒ 8 Jul 1919
Ship Returned On	SS Somali
Fate	Wounded in Action 3 Jun 1918 (gassed) Returned to Australia
Monument	Jarrahdale Honour Roll ANZAC Memorial Park (Byford)
Medals	British War Medal Victory Medal

Pre War

Electoral Roll entry - 1916 Bush Landing, Jarrahdale, horse driver.

War Service

Bill entered camp on 31 Jan 1916, and on 14 Feb 1916 he was allocated to the 16th reinforcement draft for the 11th Battalion, travelling with them aboard HMAT A9 Shropshire for Egypt, departing Fremantle on 31 Mar 1916 and disembarking at Port Tewfik on 24 Apr 1916. Following limited training in Egypt, on 29 May 1916 Bill embarked on HMT Tunisian in Alexandria for Marseilles in France, arriving there on 3 Jun 1916. There he entered the 1st Division's Base Depot in Étaples on 7 Jun 1916, before being transferred to the 11th Battalion on 29 Jun 1916. On arrival in the battalion his immediate duty was as Batman to Lieutenant AJ Long in 'D' Company. When Long was transferred to the 3rd Training Battalion in England on 25 Jun 1917, Bill went with him.

On 7 Nov 1917 Bill was transferred to the 2nd Training Battalion in Sutton Veny, and on 26 Feb 1918 to the 1st Training Battalion no doubt each time with Lt Long. On 14 May 1918 he had again travelled to France and on 19 May 1918 he rejoined the 11th Battalion who at the time were alternating between the support and front lines east of Hazebrouck near Méteren.

On 3 Jun 1918 Bill was a victim of gas shells as described by an extract from the unit's war diary.

Mont de Merris 3rd June. .........'D' Company had 14 men gassed on the way in.

The battalion was engaged in a Battalion sized raid on the German front line trenches. Bill was seen first by the 3rd Field Ambulance and treated for exposure to gas, before being passed to the 2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station the same day. He was then placed on Ambulance Train No. 7 for Boulogne where he was admitted to the 2nd Australian General Hospital at Wimereux. On 12 Jul 1918 he was well enough to be transferred to the 1st Convalescent Depot and two days later to the 10th Convalescent Depot, also in Boulogne. On 26 Jul 1918 he was released to the division's base depot and he was able to rejoin the 11th Battalion on 12 Sep 1918, remaining with them until it was his turn to go home. On 24 Apr 1919 Bill embarked for England, landing at Southampton, and a month later was on his way home, and was discharged by the 5th Military District on 22 Aug 1919.

Post War

In 1928 Bill married Charlotte Jane Chisholm at Jarrahdale. Charlotte died in Claremont on 15 Feb 1970, aged 73. Electoral Roll entries - 1922 - 1931 'Nareena', 4 Warwick street, Claremont, wood merchant; 1936 - 1937 Wattle avenue, Claremont; 1943 - 1963 they had returned to 4 Warwick street, Claremont.

External Links

• AIF Project
• RSL Virtual War Memorial